K.uno, a Japanese brand that specializes in custom and bridal jewelry, are going to be be releasingKingdom Hearts themed necklaces, engagement rings, and wedding rings for sale later this year. They will be a part of their line, U-TREASURE.

K.uno recently held a press presentation, and there, Mr. Ryota Kataoka, a part of their sales planning department, expressed that people have been asking for them to make Kingdom Hearts jewelry and accessories for a long time, and he's happy that they're able to finally meet their wishes.

The first piece of jewelry to be shown off was the engagement ring. This ring expresses the world view of Kingdom Hearts and it's designed with a heart at the seat of the stone. This ring comes in the following varieties:

The next piece of jewelry to be introduced was the pair of matching wedding rings. One of these rings features the Kingdom Key Keyblade, while the other one features the Kingdom Key D Keyblade. These rings come in the following varieties:

Next, the Kingdom Hearts necklaces that were previously talked about were displayed as well. The first necklaces to be displayed were the Kingdom Key and Kingdom Key D ones. These necklaces come in the following varieties:

UPDATE: A new photo of the Oathkeeper and Oblivion necklaces, as well as a new photo of the Kingdom Key and Kingdom Key D wedding rings, have been shown off by @Tmkrose on Twitter. You can view the necklace photo in the Oblivion and Oathkeeper necklace gallery above and you can view the wedding ring photo in the wedding ring gallery above.

UPDATE 1:Kingdom Hearts rings are being manufactured by K.uno, the manufacturer of the Kingdom Hearts necklaces mentioned above, as well. They will be available starting June 21, 2017. You can buy them here:

UPDATE 2: A new photo of the Oathkeeper and Oblivion necklaces, as well as a new photo of the Kingdom Key and Kingdom Key D wedding rings, have been shown off by @Tmkrose on Twitter. You can view the necklace photo in the necklace gallery above and you can view the wedding ring photo in the ring gallery above.

The previously mentioned key rings included the characters Final Form Sora, Roxas in his black coat, Mickey Mouse in his Kingdom Hearts II outfit, Donald Duck, and Goofy. Now, the characters Sora/Data-Sora, Riku in his black coat/Data-Riku, Atlantica Sora, Atlantica Donald Duck, Atlantica Goofy, and Chip & Dale are coming to this line of key rings. View the aforementioned key rings here and view the new ones in the gallery below:

There's currently no pricing info or release date, but we'll keep you updated.

UPDATE 1: Key rings for Sora/Data-Sora and Chip & Dale have been revealed. View them with the other key rings in the photo gallery above. A couple more Kingdom Hearts shirts have also been revealed to be coming to PONEYCOMB. They are in the same line as the shirts that were previously talked about. The shirt designs include one that shows off Timeless River Mickey Mouse on the front and one that shows off the Timeless River world icon on the front and Timeless River Sora on the back. View the shirts in the gallery below:

UPDATE 2: A release date, as well as prices, for these products have been revealed by Dtimes. These products will be available from the PONEYCOMB pop-up shop at Kichijoji Parco 5f for a limited time from June 24, 2017 to August 27, 2017. The Timeless River Mickey shirts will be available for 3,500 yen ($31.46 USD) and the Timeless River Sora shirts will be available for 4,200 yen ($37.75 USD), while the key rings will be available for 1,500 yen ($13.48 USD).

UPDATE 3: Even more Kingdom Hearts shirts and acrylic key rings are coming to PONEYCOMB! Now, the characters Halloween Town Sora, Halloween Town Donald Duck, and Halloween Town Goofy are coming to this line of key rings. There are two new shirts. One of which has a design of Halloween Town Sora and Christmas Town Jack Skellington on the front, and the other shirt has a design of Halloween Town Donald and Goofy on the front. They both come in either black or white.

Both the acrylic key rings and the shirts will be available to pre-order from September 2, 2017 to September 10, 2017. They are planned to ship at the end of September, and regular sales in PONEYCOMB stores are scheduled to begin on September 9, 2017. The key rings will be available to purchase for 1,620 yen ($14.81 USD) each, and the shirts will be available to purchase for 3,780 yen ($34.56 USD) each.

Miyu Irino, who is better known as the Japanese voice actor for Sora from the Kingdom Hearts series, will be a Guest of Honor at this year's Anime Expo on July 1st to 4th at the Los Angeles Convention Center. In addition, he will be participating in a panel and be available for autographs.

UPDATE: Miyu Irino participated in a panel at Anime Expo 2017 a couple of weeks ago. He discussed about some of the characters he has voiced including Haku from Spirited Away, Saji Crossroad from Gundam 00, and of course Sora from Kingdom Hearts.

When asked about if he liked video games:

You’ve voice acted for video games. Do you enjoy playing video games yourself?

Of course, in primary and junior high school, I’d play a lot of video games. In summer, I’d spend 8-12 hours a day playing video games, like Final Fantasy, Mario, action games, RPGs, lots of different types of games. I recently purchased a PS4, and I’m playing Kingdom Hearts 2.8 right now.

When asked about which role he loves the most:

We’ve talked about many roles today. Are there any types of roles you’d like to do?

It’s a very difficult question; it’s not really a question of what role I like to play, but more about how I am able to develop the character. If I really had to choose, I’d say Sora from Kingdom Hearts, as it has been 15 years since I first started the role. Being involved with a project for that long is something special, and I’d like to continue being involved and see where it goes.

According to Instagram user funkofinderz, Funko is releasing Kingdom Hearts Pop! Vinyl figures for Sora, Riku, Kairi, and an unnamed Heartless. There is no release date for the figures yet but the Instagram post mentions it is coming soon.

The Japanese website, Dtimes, has posted promotional pages for two new Kingdom Hearts t-shirts. These shirts each feature an illustration of Donald Duck or Goofy in their Atlantica forms from Kingdom Hearts, with Atlantica's world logo underneath each shirt's featured character. Each shirt will be available from retailer X-Large's Okinawa store for 5,500 yen ($49.81 USD). These shirts release on June 9, 2017, and will be available in both black and white, in S, M, L, and XL sizes. Unfortunately, pre-orders do not seem to be available for these particular items, as X-Large has not listed them on their online store. However, these items may be made available for purchase on the online store on their release date.

Will you be picking up one of these shirts? Which one do you like more? Let us know in the comments below!

There's currently no pricing info or release date for this PROPLICA Keyblade. We'll keep you updated.

PROPLICA is a line of prop replicas of various different weapons and items from different series. There are many fan-made prop replicas out there of Kingdom Key, but this is the first time an official one is being sold.

UPDATE 1: A few more photos of the Kingdom Key PROPLICA were taken by @hobbysearch on Twitter. View them in the gallery with the other photos above.

UPDATE 2: Even more photos of the Kingdom Key PROPLICA were shared by @ArikaMiz on Twitter. View them in the gallery with the other photos above.

Kingdom Hearts Collection Badges are on their way to Sega Prize, starting from June 5, 2017. They'll be available at several Sega stores beginning on Monday (June 5, 2017), while they'll begin being available at other stores on Thursday (June 8, 2017). There's 30 applicable stores in total.

Sega Prize is a special division of Sega, which focus specifically on prizes available from their Sega UFO Catcher machines. These machines are set up at various stores in Japan, and are essentially a type of crane game that allow you to win prizes.

UPDATE 1: Shinjuku Sportsland, a well-known arcade at Shinjuku in Tokyo, Japan, will have theseKingdom Hearts Collection Badges in-stock, starting from Saturday (June 3, 2017). They will have all 15 Collection Badges available to win. The Shinjuku Sportsland official Twitter account has also provided photos of the Collection Badges. View them with the other photo in the gallery above.

UPDATE 2: A new photo of the Kingdom Hearts Collection Badges has been shared by @ArikaMiz on Twitter. View it with the other photos in the gallery above.

UPDATE 3: The Kingdom Hearts Collection Badges are now in stock as several Sega stores! Also, more photos of the badges have been shared on Twitter by @SEGA_akiba_4. View them with the other photos in the gallery above.

Ichiban Kuji are making Kingdom Hearts character collection cards which will be on sale starting May 24, 2017. These cards can be purchased from their site for 150 yen (about $1.34 USD) and they will be selling the collections on different periods starting from May 24, 2017 until the last collection to be sold in August 31, 2017.

View two sample images of what the cards look like, as well as an actual photo of the cards, provided by @print1KUJI and @ArikaMiz on Twitter, below:

UPDATE 1: Another photo of the cards has been shown off by @naxkia on Twitter. View this photo with the other photos in the gallery above.

UPDATE 2: Ichiban Kuji have extended the sales period for their Kingdom Hearts card collection to September 22, 2017. Also, more prints have been added to the collection, featuring different characters from Kingdom Hearts. The pricing remains 150 yen (about $1.34) per print. You can view the new character cards in the gallery above.

An Organization XIII themed Kingdom Hearts jigsaw puzzle by Tenyo is releasing soon. This puzzle consists of 1,000 pieces and is 57 x 73.5cm when assembled. You can pre-order this jigsaw puzzle from AmiAmi for 3,024 yen ($26.60 USD). Pre-orders are offered on a first come, first served basis in case of manufacture stock shortages.

View the picture that the puzzle creates when assembled below:

UPDATE: Pre-orders have since been closed! We'll update you if they open again.

The Square Enix North American online store has updated with new pre-orders for the Kingdom Hearts Plush Shadow, as well as more Keyblade Keychains of the Fenrir and Ultima Weapon. All 3 products have an estimated release of May 2017. The Plush Shadow costs $34.99 USD, and the Keychains each cost $19.99 USD.

Check out a link to each pre-order page below, as well as their corresponding images.

Other musical compositions that have been showcased in the Kingdom Hearts series have also made it into the top 300 list for Hall of Fame 2017, including the following:

"A Night on the Bare Mountain" ranked at no. 269

"Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Black Pearl" ranked at no. 206

"Final Fantasy Series (including One-Winged Angel)" ranked at no. 49

"Nutcracker" ranked at no. 34

"Symphony no. 6 in F Major Op.68 (Pastoral)" ranked at no. 7

Congratulations are in order to Yoko Shimomura and her success in making Classic FM's Hall of Fame list once more! May she have continued success in the Kingdom Hearts franchise and the entirety of her musical career.

Prototypes of Funko Pop! Vinyl Kingdom Hearts Halloween Town Donald Duck and Goofy have been leaked by @poncho_pete_ on Instagram. It's currently unknown when Funko will announce these figures. View the image of the prototypes below:

To celebrate the 15th Anniversary of Kingdom Hearts, shirts and acrylic key rings are coming to the Japanese clothing store, PONEYCOMB, located in the shopping mall "109" in Shibuya.

The shirt features Mickey Mouse on the front in his black coat disguise with the word "KING" above him. This shirt comes in a style for women and a style for men. View the shirts below:

There are five different acrylic key rings, each featuring a different character from the series. The characters are Final Form Sora, Roxas in his black coat, Mickey Mouse in his Kingdom Hearts II outfit, Donald Duck, and Goofy. View the key rings below:

UPDATE 1: A release date, as well as prices, for these products have been revealed by Dtimes. These products will be available from PONEYCOMB on April 29, 2017, and the shirts will be available for 3,500 yen ($31.46 USD), while the key rings will be available for 1,500 yen ($13.48 USD).

UPDATE 3: Key rings for Sora/Data-Sora and Chip & Dale have been revealed. View them with the other key rings in the photo gallery above. A couple more Kingdom Hearts shirts have also been revealed to be coming to PONEYCOMB. The shirt designs include one that shows off Timeless River Mickey Mouse on the front and one that shows off the Timeless River world icon on the front and Timeless River Sora on the back. View the shirts in the gallery below:

UPDATE 4: A release date, as well as prices, for these products have been revealed by Dtimes. These products will be available from the PONEYCOMB pop-up shop at Kichijoji Parco 5f for a limited time from June 24, 2017 to August 27, 2017. The Timeless River Mickey shirts will be available for 3,500 yen ($31.46 USD) and the Timeless River Sora shirts will be available for 4,200 yen ($37.75 USD), while the key rings will be available for 1,500 yen ($13.48 USD).

UPDATE 5: Even more Kingdom Hearts shirts and acrylic key rings are coming to PONEYCOMB! Now, the characters Halloween Town Sora, Halloween Town Donald Duck, and Halloween Town Goofy are coming to this line of key rings. There are two new shirts. One of which has a design of Halloween Town Sora and Christmas Town Jack Skellington on the front, and the other shirt has a design of Halloween Town Donald and Goofy on the front. They both come in either black or white.

Both the acrylic key rings and the shirts will be available to pre-order from September 2, 2017 to September 10, 2017. They are planned to ship at the end of September, and regular sales in PONEYCOMB stores are scheduled to begin on September 9, 2017. The key rings will be available to purchase for 1,620 yen ($14.81 USD) each, and the shirts will be available to purchase for 3,780 yen ($34.56 USD) each.

To further celebrate the 15th anniversary of Kingdom Hearts this year, 7Net is offering exclusive Kingdom Hearts merchandise from Japan. All items are currently available for pre-order and are releasing on a variety of dates, ranging from June 23 2017 to August 23 2017. You can see some images of the available products for sale below:

A list of release dates and prices of items available from 7Net are as follows:

Now, Diamond Select Toys have shown off improved versions of these figures at Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) 2017. Last time they were shown, figures of Sora, Roxas, Axel, Mickey Mouse, Maleficent, Jafar, Iago, Abu, a Dusk Nobody, a Shadow Heartless, and a Creeper Plant Heartless were shown. This time, figures of Sora, Axel, Mickey Mouse, a Dusk Nobody, a Shadow Heartless, and a Soldier Heartless were shown. A Vinimate Sora can be seen in the back as well.

UPDATE 1: More detailed photos have been added of the Sora, Axel, Mickey Mouse, and the Soldier Heartless figures by Diamond Select Toys, which were featured about booth #817 at C2E2. You can view these images above.

UPDATE 2:The official Diamond Select Toys Twitter account has released an image of their Vinimates display at C2E2 2017 at their booth #817. In this display, you can see the Sora Vinimate and get a better look at him than in the previous photo. Sora can be seen on the third shelf down and to the right. View the image of the display below:

UPDATE 3: Thanks to @JayCochran on Twitter, we now have a new photo of the Sora figure and a new photo of the Mickey figure. View these images with the other images above.

UPDATE 4: New images of these figures and new information on these figures has been released. It's now known that these figures will be released in two packs which each contain three figures. The first pack will have Axel, Mickey Mouse, and a Shadow Heartless in it, while the other pack will have Sora, a Soldier Heartless, and a Dusk Nobody in it. The figures are between four and seven inches tall. They will be released Fall 2017, and both packs will be $25.00 USD. The figures are sculpted by Oluf Hartvigson, who's also done some work for one of the Star Wars lines at Sideshow Collectibles.

View the new images in the gallery below:

UPDATE 6: Pre-orders for these two sets of figures are now available on Ami Ami. Pre-order the Sora, Soldier, and Dusk pack here, and pre-order the Mickey, Axel, and Shadow pack here.

They can each be pre-ordered for 3,500 yen ($31.44 USD). In case you missed it, they will be released in Fall 2017.

UPDATE 7: Pre-orders for these two sets of figures are now available for the United States. Pre-order the Sora, Soldier, and Dusk pack from BigBadToyStore here, pre-order the Mickey, Axel, and Shadow pack from BigBadToyStore here, and pre-order both packs from BigBadToyStore here. You can also pre-order both packs from Entertainment Earth here. Each pack can be pre-ordered for $22.99 USD, and the double pack can be pre-ordered for $44.99 USD.

Read the product description for the single packs below:

A Diamond Select Toys release! Just in time for the 15th anniversary of the Select action figure line, one of the world's most popular video game franchises is getting the Select treatment! Based on the popular Kingdom Hearts II chapter, these action figure multi-packs include some of the franchise's most popular characters. Each figure measures between 4 and 7 inches tall and features up to 16 points of articulation, as well as character-appropriate accessories including Keyblades. Each figure set comes packaged in the display-ready Select action figure packaging, with side-panel artwork for shelf reference. Sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios!

Read the product description for the double pack below:

A Diamond Select Toys release! Just in time for the 15th anniversary of the Select action figure line, one of the world's most popular video game franchises is getting the Select treatment! Based on the popular Kingdom Hearts II chapter, these action figure multi-packs include some of the franchise's most popular characters: Mickey Mouse comes with Axel and Shadow, and Sora comes with Dusk and a soldier. Each figure measures between 4 and 7 inches tall and features up to 16 points of articulation, as well as character-appropriate accessories including Keyblades. Each figure set comes packaged in the display-ready Select action figure packaging, with side-panel artwork for shelf reference. Sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios!

UPDATE 8: Diamond Select Toys' Kingdom Hearts figures have been shown off at SDCC (San Diego Comic Con) 2017. The Mickey, Sora, Axel, Dusk Nobody, Shadow Heartless, and Soldier Heartless figures were shown off there, as well as new Pluto, Valor Form Sora, and Wisdom Form Sora. A Master Form Sora was announced too. The Pluto figure will be $9.99 USD at Walgreens, the Valor Form Sora will be $19.99 USD only at GameStop, the Wisdom Form Sora will be $19.99 USD only at Target, and the Master Form Sora will be $19.99 USD only at Toys "R" Us. Check out photos of the figures at SDCC 2017, provided by @churroz on Twitter, below:

The first case features Sora's Station of Awakening. The second case features the Kingdom Hearts II cover art. The third, a red case, features the "Awakening" image from Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. Finally, the fourth case does not feature an image like the others, but instead features the heart, crown, Keyblade, and Mickey head symbols commonly associated with the series, emblazoned upon the entirety of the front side of the case. Each case also features the Kingdom Hearts logo on its rear side, but does not have a design on its interior. All four of these cases can be viewed in the album below:

One of the UK's leading games retailer, GAME, has partnered up with Square Enix to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Kingdom Hearts franchise. GAME is hosting a giveaway where they are offering a Kingdom Hearts framed art print, featuring many beloved characters in various moments throughout the series.

To enter the giveaway you can visit GAME's Twitter (@GAMEdigital) and tweet your favorite Kingdom Hearts moment. Be sure to include #MyKHMoment in your entry!

You can view pictures of the figure below. A description of the product follows.

The Static Arts Gallery series is focused on pursuing the faithful depiction of characters within its 6-inch size limitation. Now Riku as he appears in KINGDOM HEARTS II will be the latest to join the lineup!Despite its small scale, this figure’s exquisite paintwork is applied down to the fine details. Furthermore, the delicate and intricate design of the sculpt will surely surprise those that pick up the figure with all the details in its hair and clothes.

The star and shadow at his feet are created with translucent material to appear as though the star is casting light at Riku’s feet.

The presentation is a vivid reminder of the theme of light and darkness that is rooted in KINGDOM HEARTS, and so carefully expressed in the character of Riku.

Product Size (inches): Approx. W 2.91” x D 2.91" x H 5.6”

Release scheduled for end of September 2017

Limit two (2) per customer.

Will you be pre-ordering this figure? Let us know in the comments below!

The Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage- Play Arts Kai Aqua showcased at various events this year is now up for pre-order on the North American Square Enix Online Store. The release date is listed as end of August 2017, with a price of $129.99.

You can view images of the figure below. The Square Enix Online Store description follows.

Aqua, the first female protagonist in the KINGDOM HEARTS series, has the inner fortitude to withstand adversity. This Play Arts -KAI- figure is sure to please as it showcases her unwavering spirit in its expression.

The various included accessory parts allow for a multitude of action poses. The paintwork, varying calculated intensities of light and shadow, gives her a realistic presence, all while taking great care to show off of her signature blue color. We also aimed to give her armor and keyblade a heavy feel through the paint-applied metal textures.

Whether she is charging gallantly into battle with Rainfell or showing her softer side in scenes with Terra and Ventus, we have condensed every bit of her charm into this figure to make it quintessentially Aqua.

It has been announced on the Tempo SEGA website that a Kingdom Hearts premium jumbo bath towel will be offered in a total of 34 stores in Japan. The scheduled arrival of these towels is set to Friday, April 14, 2017. The towel features a variant of the original cover art for Kingdom Hearts II. You can view a sample of the towel below.

At the end of March the Kingdom Hearts series celebrated its 15th anniversary, and so Famitsu have commemorated this event by featuring the franchise in their magazine yet again. This time, Kingdom Hearts dominates the very front cover of the magazine, and is featured in a 15-pages spread.

Both Tetsuya Nomura (series director) and Masahiro Sakurai (Super Smash Bros. creator) have discussed the series. In addition, several of the Japanese voice actors for the series were interviewed. There are also results from questionnaires answered by Kingdom Hearts fans.

The issue seems to contain an overall look at all the games in the series so far, how they fit in the Kingdom Hearts timeline, and how they lead up to Kingdom Hearts III, including information on the game that have been revealed so far.

The article also features various top 5 and top 10 lists based on fan preferences and expectations. Some of the lists are summarized below.

Favorite games from the series:

Kingdom Hearts II Final mix

Kingdom Hearts II

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

Favorite male characters:

Sora

Roxas

Axel (Lea)

Riku

Terra

Favorite female characters:

Aqua

Xion

Kairi

Namine

Larxene

Favorite moments:

"Looks like my summer vacations are over."

Xion revealing her true identity to Roxas at the end of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Sora's time as a Heartless

The ending of Kingdom Hearts

The secret ending of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix

Favorite Keyblades:

Oathkeeper

Kingdom Key

Oblivion

Ultima Weapon

Two Become One

Favorite music:

Hikari

Dearly Beloved

Roxas

Vector to the Heavens

The Other Promise

Most wanted Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts:

Noctis

Lightning

Zidane

Chocobos

Bartz

Other lists include favorite boss battles, the most wanted Final Fantasy characters in future Kingdom Hearts installments, and more.

The feature also mentions the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra - World Tour -.

You can view the scans of the feature section below. English translations will be available as soon as possible.

UPDATE: In the magazine, creator of Super Smash Bros., Masahiro Sakurai, shared his thoughts on the Kingdom Hearts series and its 15th anniversary. View his thoughts, translated by @KamennoOtoko on Twitter and provided by @AllSourceGaming on Twitter below:

Sakurai: Congratulations on your 15-year anniversary! (The Kirby series turns 25 this year, as it were.)Although the nature of our respective games may differ, as someone who has also worked on several collaborative titles, I understand all too well how difficult they can be.My hat goes off to Nomura and his staff for putting together a tale jam-packed with content every single time.I look forward to another entry to the series!

The Kingdom Hearts series recently celebrated its 15th anniversary with a bang, as renowned RPG developer Square Enix has paved the way to the series' long-awaited climax with a massive compilation. Released for Sony's PlayStation 4, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX offers some of the best experiences that Kingdom Hearts has presented to date, and consists of the first six works in the series. For the uninitiated, these six titles are:

Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, an enhanced re-release of the original game

Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, a console-oriented overhaul of the Game Boy Advance interquel

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX presents something for every fan to enjoy. Whether you are a newcomer who has decided to jump into the series, a seasoned veteran who has been an avid follower since 2002, or anywhere in between, this collection is sure to contain something of interest to you.

When considering the perspective of newcomers, it's no secret that Kingdom Hearts has historically had a reputation for having a confusing plot, due in large part to having its titles spread thin across many platforms. However, in recent years, series director Tetsuya Nomura expressed his desire to remedy this stigma by releasing every Kingdom Hearts title on a single platform. Through both this collection and the recently-released Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, Nomura's wishes have been fulfilled; nearly every game in the series is available on the PlayStation 4, with the upcoming Kingdom Hearts III set to continue this trend.

As seen above, the newest iteration of the Kingdom Hearts timeline features only four overall releases. The two aforementioned collections and Kingdom Hearts III all have a simple, numerically-ascending order which highlights the intended play order. Meanwhile, while the series' mobile installment, Kingdom Hearts Union χ[cross], is presented as being first in the timeline, it is meant to be played late into the series, as it relies heavily on knowledge learned throughout most of the other games. In summary, with just a PlayStation 4 and a smartphone or tablet, the entirety of the Kingdom Hearts series can be easily understood and enjoyed by newer fans!For returning Kingdom Hearts diehards, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX unfortunately offers little in the way of completely new experiences. While the Final Mix-exclusive additions and revamped HD cutscenes are carried over from the PlayStation 3 releases of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX, there is no sign of any additional content which is exclusive to this PlayStation 4 release. Instead, much of the incentive for veterans to purchase this compilation comes in the form of technical improvements.

In the PlayStation 3 releases, load times were unusually long, and the included games all ran at 720p and 30 frames per second. In the PlayStation 4 version, by contrast, the load times have all but vanished, the resolution has been increased to 1080p, and the playable titles run at 60 frames per second, resulting in a clearer and more fluid image. The option to play at 4k resolution is even available to PlayStation 4 Pro owners, further increasing the collection's visual quality. Unfortunately, the framerate increase does not apply to any of the cutscenes present in the collection; this is only applicable to gameplay, as the cutscenes are strictly programmed to run at 30 frames per second.

While these improvements have been widely praised by players, the games are not without their own problems. Several players, including prominent speedrunners Bl00dyBizkitz and Bizkit047, have pointed out several glaring issues with the PlayStation 4 versions of each game. Several crashes and bugs which were present in the PlayStation 3 releases have been carried over, some new crashes have been reported, and the transition to 60 frames per second has introduced several inconsistencies regarding game physics and timings. Thankfully, Square Enix has already begun to roll out updates and patches to lessen or eliminate many of the offending issues.

Overall, while Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX is by no means a perfect product, and still has a great deal of technical hurdles to overcome, the collection provides an excellent starting point for new players, a large amount of nostalgia for returning players, and a great deal of improvement under-the-hood for those who seek a good-looking, smooth experience. If you've hesitated at the thought of playing the series, or simply want to experience the games in higher detail than ever before, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX will not disappoint.

UPDATE: Square Enix is now accepting pre-orders in the Square Enix Japan store for 4,940 yen (about $45 USD) and the figure is set to be released on July 29th, 2017. It's currently unknown when it will be available in the North American store.